Cheetah Conservation Topic of UW Global Engagement Talk Oct. 17

"Cheetah Conservation Through Collaboration: A Call to Action" is the topic of a University of Wyoming Global Engagement Office talk Thursday, Oct. 17.

Laurie Marker, Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) founder and executive director, will give her free public talk at 4 p.m. in Room 138 of the Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center. A reception and fundraiser for the conservation fund will follow in the Berry Center atrium.

Marker is an American scientist and is widely recognized as the leading expert on the cheetah. The CCF is the global leader in research, education and conservation of cheetahs and is dedicated to saving the cheetah in the wild. The organization has created integrated programs based on research to address threats to the cheetah and its ecosystem. Founded in 1990, CCF is an international nonpro­fit organization headquartered in the Republic of Namibia and the Republic of Somaliland, with an operations base in the U.S.

CCF is celebrating its 34th anniversary this year, making it the longest running and most successful cheetah conservation organization. For more information, visit www.cheetah.org.

Marker began her ex-situ cheetah work at the Wildlife Safari in Oregon in 1973 and her in-situ cheetah research in Namibia in 1977. In 1988, she joined the Smithsonian Institution as executive director of the New Opportunities in Animal Health Sciences Center.

Marker received her Ph.D. from Oxford University in the United Kingdom. She is the recipient of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, the Tech Museum's Intel Environment Award, the Explorers Club President's Award for Conservation and the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Technology Pioneer Award. She was named a "Hero for the Planet" by Time Magazine and has been featured in Smithsonian Magazine and National Geographic.

For more information about Marker's presentation, call the UW Global Engagement Office at (307) 766-3677.